Method for automated morphological analysis of word structure

ABSTRACT

A morphological analysis method is described. In one aspect of the invention, the method includes the steps of breaking a word into potential base-affix pairs, modifying the base of each base-affix pair into possible roots, accessing each lexical entry of each root in a lexicon, deriving a lexical entry for a root if the lexical entry is not provided in the lexicon, retrieving the derivation information for each affix from the entry, applying the derivation information to the entry, and returning all derived entries.

A portion of this disclosure of this patent document contains material which is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever.

The present invention relates generally to natural language processing, and more particularly, relates to a system for automated morphological analysis of word structure.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is related to commonly assigned and copending U.S. patent application Ser. Nos. 07/570,585 and 07/570,584 entitled, respectively, A Method For Generating A Lexicon and Sense Discrimination System And Method.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Automated natural language (NL) text processing typically refers to text processing, such as text retrieval performed on text by a computer capable of "reading" and "understanding" the semantics of the text. Efficient natural language processing systems can be of great benefit in performing tasks such as information retrieval. The computer, by being able to understand the meaning, i.e., semantics, of the text, can perform a more accurate search and bring only relevant information to the attention of the requestor.

In order to perform such "intelligent" searches, the computer itself must "understand" the text. Natural language processing systems therefore typically contain tools, or software modules, to facilitate generating a representation of an understanding of the text. Particularly, when text is input to a NL system, the system not only stores the text but also generates a representation, in a computer-understandable format, of the meaning, i.e., semantics, of the text.

For generating a computer-understandable semantic representation of text, natural language processing systems include, in general and at a high level, a lexicon module and a processing module. The lexicon module is a "dictionary", or database, containing words and semantic knowledge related to each word. The processing module typically includes a plurality of analyzer modules which operate upon the input text and the lexicon module in order to process the text and generate the computer-understandable semantic representation. Particularly, the processing module generates a recorded version for each word of text, and the recoded version includes fields which represent semantic knowledge. Once this semantic knowledge of the text is generated in a computer-understandable format, a system user can use the computer, via an application program such as a search program to perform tasks such as text retrieval.

One analyzer module which may be utilized to operate upon input text to facilitate generation of the computer-understandable semantic representation of the text is a morphological analysis module. Morphologic analysis, as used herein, refers to the derivation of lexical entries for a word based on its internal structure. The internal structure of a word refers to lexical constituents, i.e., root and any affixes, that make up the word.

Known morphological analysis systems utilize affix stripping methods to obtain a word root. The affixes of the word are discarded. The lexical entry is created from the word root alone. Utilizing only the word root, however, limits the accuracy of these known morphological analysis systems. For example, for two separate words having a common root, identical lexical entries will be generated. The two words, in their entirety, however, may have totally different meanings. Until now, no known morphological analysis system utilizes affix information to generate more accurate lexical entries which contain more semantic knowledge.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present morphological analysis system generates a recorded version for each word of text by breaking a word into potential base-suffix pairs and base-prefix pairs. Then, using spelling rules, possible roots of each base are determined. For each possible root, a word version is obtained from a lexicon module. If the lexicon module does not have an entry for a particular root, the entry can be derived. For each word, derivation information for each affix is derived. The derivation information is then represented in the lexical entry. For each pair, optimization operations are employed to determine the likelihood of the accuracy of each base-suffix and each base-prefix pair.

Importantly, the present invention provides explicit recognition in text representation of the relationship between words that derive from a common root by utilizing the word root along with information contained in the complete form in which a word appears, i.e., prefix, affix and root.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other objects of the present invention, together with further features and advantages thereof, will become apparent from the following detailed specification when read together with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a flowchart illustrating a sequence of method steps for performing morphological analysis in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a sequence of method steps for retrieving derivation information of an entry for a suffix; and

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a sequence of method steps for applying derivation information to an entry.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention is specifically directed to a morphological analysis system and method. It is contemplated that the present invention could be utilized in a larger automated natural language text processing system which includes other modules which provide other types of semantic knowledge. Further, although the present invention is described with reference to a particular lexicon, it is contemplated that the present invention could be used with many other lexicons and is not limited to practice with any one particular lexicon.

Referring now to FIG. 1, a flowchart 100 illustrating a sequence of method steps for performing morphological analysis in accordance with the present invention is shown. Although the steps shown indicate that the analysis is for suffixes, the same operations are to be performed for prefixes. Subsequent to starting operations as indicated at 102, the word under analysis is broken into potential base and suffix pairs as indicated at 104. This involves stripping off the suffixes which could end the word, including no suffix at all. For example, the word "quickly" would generate three pairs: (quickly-null), (quickly-y), and (quick-ly). The -null suffix represents no suffix, which would mean that "quickly" is a root. At this point, no determination has been made on the validity of these breakdowns.

For each pair, the next step, as indicated at 106, is to determine what the true root is, since the base may include a spelling change. For example, the base "hitt" for the suffix -ing is the result of "doubling" the final consonant "t" of the root "hit". For the analysis, the entry "t" must be removed. The spelling rules of English are somewhat arbitrary, with many exceptions. Thus, each base may produce several possible roots.

As indicated at 108, for each root, its lexical entries must accessed. In the case of the word "book", this task is simply a look-up operation. However, the root itself could be a derivative of some other word, and thus the analyzer must recursively derive the entries for this root. For example, the word "acquisitions" has an immediate root "acquisition", which is a derivative of the word "acquire". Note that in either case, a root may have multiple lexical entries representing different parts of speech.

As indicated at 110, for each of these entries, the derivative entry for the suffix must be retrieved. The derivative entry specifies the derived part of speech or lexical subcategory and the semantic transformation rules to apply to the entry's senses. Using the derivative entry, the morphological analyzer creates a virtual lexical entry for the original word.

The process is complicated by three sources of ambiguity: word to base, base to root, and root to entry. The word may have several possible breakdowns, the base may have several possible roots, and the root may have several entries. To try all possible paths in this morphological analysis may, in some cases, be inefficient.

In order to optimize the process, lexical targets may be used. A lexical target is a desired part of speech to be derived at a certain stage of analysis. The targets are determined depending on the current suffix it is processing. For example, the suffix -s can only transform a verb into the third person singular present form or a noun into the plural form. Thus, the only possible parts of speech for a root entry of a word ending in the -s suffix are noun and verb. Noun and verb are thus the lexical targets for -s. The analyzer system "knows" this about -s, and therefore will not access (or derive) root entries which are not nouns or verbs. For example, the analyzer would not consider the preposition lexical entry for root "down" if it was analyzing the word "downs".

Another optimization involves a look-ahead search strategy which tries to prune derivations which have little hope of succeeding. This strategy is a heuristic based on the fact that it is rare that a word will have two derivations based on different roots, (e.g. the word "singer" could derive from "single" and "sing"). Furthermore, that these two competing derivations could be composed of a different number of constituents is even rarer, (e.g. the word "crackers" could be broken down into "crack-er-s" and "cracker-s"). Using this heuristic, the analyzer "looks ahead" to determine if an analysis (or path) is promising, and if not, terminates it. For example, if the analyzer has accessed the entries of one known root, the other possible roots are only considered if they do not require recursive derivation. There other situations where this strategy may be employed to result in high efficiency without loss of lexical coverage.

Further details with regard to obtaining derivation information are provided in flow charts illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3. As shown in FIG. 1, subsequent to applying the derivation information to the entry as indicated at step 110, all derived entries are returned as shown at step 112. Operations then end as indicated at a step 114.

Referring now to FIG. 2, a flowchart 200 illustrating a sequence of method steps for retrieving derivation information of an entry for a suffix is shown. Particularly, subsequent to starting operations as indicated at step 202, for each sense of the entry, and for each sense-level derivative of the suffix, if the derivative will result in a lexical target, the derivative and sense are saved under the lexical target as indicated at step 204. Then, as indicated at 206, for each entry-level derivative of the suffix, if the derivative will result in a lexical target, the derivative along with each sense of the entry are saved under the lexical target.

As indicated at step 208, for each part-of-speech default derivative of the suffix, if the derivative will result in a lexicon target not yet derived, the derivative along with each sense of the entry are saved under the lexical target. All saved derivative information is then returned as indicated at step 210. Operations then end as indicated at step 212.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart 300 illustrating a sequence of method steps for applying derivative information to an entry. Particularly, subsequent to starting operations as indicated at a step 302, for each lexical target, the following operations, as shown at 304, are performed: create a new lexical entry with the target as its part-of-speech, and for each derivative sense pair, apply the semantic transformations of the derivative to the sense and store the resulting new senses in the new lexical entry. Operations then end as indicated at step 306.

The analysis of prefixes cause two major complications for the morphological analyzer. First, prefixes add ambiguity to the determination of the root of words. For example, the prefix pre- is also enveloped in normal words such as "prefers", which would cause the analyzer to attempt wasted derivations for invalid roots. Second, since prefixes can be combined with suffixes, there is often ambiguity in which affix is attached first. For example, the word "undoable" has to distinct meanings: "not doable" or "able to be undone". For the analyzer to accurately derive the lexical entries for such words, all orders of attachments must be applied.

Appendix I shows the suffixes and their transformations for each part of speech. For each suffix, the base part of speech (POS) is shown to the left of the arrow and the derived part of speech (or lexical subcategory) is to the right. This part of the table represents the syntactic transformation caused by adding the suffix to a root entry. The list of possible semantic transformation rules follow this syntactic information. The description of each semantic transformation rule is provided in Appendix III.

Appendix II shows the prefixes and their transformations for each part of speech. Prefix derivatives are not encoded in the derivative fields of the lexical entry structure. Rather, these derivatives are treated as global to all members of a lexical category. For example, derivatives involving the prefix un- are assumed for all adjectives, nouns and verbs, and furthermore, the derivative entry is the same for all of them. The handling of prefixes can, of course, be identical to that of suffixes, and their derivative entry structures may be encoded explicitly in the lexical entries.

As mentioned above, Appendix III contains a list of the semantic transformation rules referenced in the derivative entries. Each transform has a description of the transform and an example derivative. If the transform is relevant to only a few affixes, then those affixes are listed in parentheses. The affixes which use these transforms are listed in Appendices I and II.

These rules create the word senses of the derivative, so the user must decide what rules are applicable to the derivative; i.e. what rules will generate the appropriate senses of the derivative. Each derivative must be considered individually, since there are no generally applicable transformations. If the user finds that no rules apply to a given derivative, this derivative should either be encoded as a full lexical entry or as an explicit derivative. If some rules apply, but other senses of the derivative are not encodable as transformations, then these senses should be encoded as explicit derivatives.

Appendix IV contains a computer code listing which may be utilized to control operation of a computer in accordance with the present morphological analysis method. The code is written in Lucid Common Lisp and may be run by a Sun Workstation.

The preferred lexicon to be utilized with the present morphological analysis system and method includes a hierarchy of parent concepts for encoding semantic preferences and restrictions, sense-based morphology and subcategorization, a distinction between primary and secondary senses and senses that require particular "triggers" or appear only in specific contexts, and a broad range of collocational information. For example, the following listing is a lexical entry for the word "issue":

    ______________________________________                                         (issue                                                                          :POS noun                                                                      :SENSES                                                                        ((issue1                                                                      :EXAMPLE (address important issues)                                            :TYPE.sub.p                                                                    :PAR (c-concern)                                                               :ASSOC (subject)   )                                                           (issue2                                                                        :EXAMPLE (is that the october issue?)                                          :TYPE.sub.s                                                                    :PAR (c-published-document)                                                    :ASSOC (edition)   )))                                                         (issue                                                                          :POS verb                                                                      :G-DERIV nil                                                                   :SENSES                                                                       ((issue1                                                                       :SYNTAX (one-obj io-rec)                                                       :EXAMPLE (the stockroom issues supplies)                                       :TYPE.sub.p                                                                    :PAR (c-giving)                                                                :ASSOC (supply)                                                                :S-DERIV      ((-able adj tr.sub.-- ability)                                                 (-ance noun tr.sub.-- act)                                                     (-er nour tr.sub.-- actor))   )                                  (issue2                                                                        :SYNTAX (one-obj io-rec)                                                       :EXAMPLE (I issued instructions)                                               :TYPE.sub.p                                                                    :PAR (c-informing)                                                             :ASSOC (produce)                                                               :S-DERIV ((-ance noun tr.sub.-- act))   )                                      (issue3                                                                        :SYNTAX (one-obj no-obj)                                                       :EXAMPLE (good smells issue form the cake)                                     :Type.sub.s                                                                    :Par (c-passive-moving)   )))                                                  ______________________________________                                    

The lexicon entry includes only the coarsest distinctions among word senses. Thus, the financial sense of "issue" (e.g., a new security) falls under the same core sense as the latest "issue" of a magazine. This means that for a task like database generation, task-specific processing or inference must augment the core lexical knowledge, but avoids many of the problems with considering many nuances of meaning or low-frequency senses. For example, the "progeny" sense of issue as well as the "exit" sense are omitted from the lexicon. This preserves, in the core lexicon the common coarsest distinctions among senses.

More particularly, each lexical entry has a part of speech :POS and a set of set of core :SENSES. Each core sense has a :TYPE field that indicates "p" for all primary senses and "s" for secondary senses. In general, a semantic interpreter utilizing the present lexicon should not consider secondary senses without specific contextual information. For example, the word "yard" can mean an enclosed area, a workplace, or a unit of measure, but only the enclosed area sense is considered in the zero-context.

The :PAR field links each word sense to its immediate parent in the semantic hierarchy. For example, with the parents and siblings of the two senses of the noun "issue", word senses are given by a root followed by a sense number, with conceptual categories designated by any atom beginning with c-. Explicit derivations are shown by roots followed by endings and additional type specifiers:

    ______________________________________                                         NOUN.sub.-- ISSUE1:                                                            PARENT CHAIN:                                                                               c-concern c-mental-obj c-obj                                                   c-entity something                                                SIBLINGS: (all nouns) regard1     realm2                                       puzzle1   province2   premonition1                                                                               pity1                                        pet2      parameter1  ground3     goodwill1                                    feeling2  enigma1     draw2       department2                                  concern1  cause2      care1       business3                                    baby2     apprehend-ion-x                                                      NOUN.sub.-- ISSUE2:                                                            parent chain:                                                                            c-published-document                                                                               c-document                                       c-phys-obj                                                                               c-obj       c-entity    something                                    SIBLINGS: (all nouns):                                                                               week-ly-x   volume1                                      transcript1                                                                              tragedy2    tome1       thesaurus1                                   supplement2                                                                              strip4      source2     software1                                    serial1   scripture1  romance2    publication                                  profile2  digest1     bible1      paperback1                                   paper3    paper2      pamphlet1   omnibus1                                     obituary1 novel1      notice2     month-ly-x                                   memoir1   map1        manual1     magazine1                                    library1  journal1    handbook1   anthology1                                   guide1    grammar1    gazette1    dissertation1                                feature4  facsimile1  epic1       encyclopedia1                                fiction1  column1     book1       period-ic-al-x                               directory1                                                                               copy2       atlas1      dictionary1                                  comic1    column2     blurb1      catalogue1                                   calendar1 bulletin1   brochure1   biography1                                   article1  bibliography1                                                                              constitute-ion-x1                                        ______________________________________                                    

The basic semantic hierarchy acts as a sense-disambiguited thesaurus, under the assumption that in the absence of more specific knowledge, word senses will tend to share semantic constraints with the most closely related words. Note that derivative lexical entries, such as week-ly-x above, do "double duty" in the lexicon, so that an application program can use the derivation as well as the semantics of the derivative form.

The :ASSOC field includes a lexicographer's choice of synonym or closely related words for each sense.

The :SYNTAX field encodes syntactic constraints and subcategorizations for each sense. Where senses share constraints, these can be encoded at the level of the word entry. When the syntactic constraints, such as io-rec, one-obj, and no-obj, influence semantic preferences, these are attached to the sense entry. For example, in this case "issue" used as an intransitive verb would favor "passive moving" even though it is a secondary sense, while the io-rec subcategorization in the first two senses means that the ditransitive form will fill the recipient conceptual role. The grammatical knowledge base of the system relates these subcategories to semantic roles.

The :G-DERIV and :S-DERIV fields mark morphological derivations. G-DERIV (NIL in this case to indicate no derivations) encodes these derivations at the entry, or word, level, while S-DERIV encodes derivations at the sense level. Each S-DERIV derivation entry can be marked as preferred or unpreferred. For example, the S-DERIV constraint allows "issuance" to derive from either of the first two senses of the verb, with "issuer" and "issuable" deriving only from the "giving" sense.

The derivation triples (such as (-er noun tr₋₋ actor)) encode the form of each affix, the resulting syntactic category (usually redundant), and the "semantic transformations" that apply between the core sense and the resulting senses. For example, the "issuer" in this case would play the actor role of sense one of the verb issue. Because derivations often apply to multiple senses and often result in different semantic transformations (for example, the ending -ion can indicate the act of performing some action, the object of the action, or the result of the action), the lexicon often contains strongly "preferred" interpretations to help control the ambiguity.

The lexicon may also include a substantial number of common collocations, such as verb-particle and verb-complement combinations. These expressions are often semantically productive, but the representation of common expressions helps the semantic interpreter to apply preferences. For example, the following is one set of entries for expressions with take:

    ______________________________________                                         (take                                                                           :POS verb                                                                      :SPECIAL                                                                       ((take50                                                                      :S-COMPOUNDS                                                                   ((vc (or (member c-verb.sub.-- advise2-obj                                     c-act-of-verb.sub.-- blame1                                                    c-act-of-verb.sub.-- lose1 noun.sub.-- profit2)                                c-giving)))                                                                    :EXAMPLE (take delivery)                                                       :PAR (c-receiving)  )                                                          (    take 51                                                                        :S-COMPOUNDS ((vc (or (member noun.sub.-- effort1)                        c-temporal-obj c-energy)))                                                     :EXAMPLE (the job takes up time))                                              :PAR (c-require-re1)  )                                                        (    take52                                                                         :S-COMPOUNDS ((vc (or (member noun.sub.-- office2                         noun.sub.-- advantage1 noun.sub.-- charge1                                     c-act-of-verb.sub.-- control1 noun.sub.-- command2                             noun.sub.-- responsibility) c-structure-re1                                    c-shape-re1)))                                                                 :PAR (c-contracting)  )                                                        (    take 59                                                                        :S-COMPOUNDS ((vc (member noun.sub.-- effect1)))                               :PAR(c-transpire) )                                                       (    take 60                                                                        :S-COMPOUNDS ((vc (or c-task)))                                                :PAR (c-deciding) ))                                                      ______________________________________                                          The above entries contain only the verb-complement (vc) relations for      "take". Whether these expressions are productive or not, the lexicon can      include explicit word sense pairings (such as take 52 with noun .sub.--      pressure 2), in which case the collocation helps to discriminate the      senses of both verb and complement, or a pairing with a conceptual      category (such as take 51 with c-temporal-obj), in which case the pairing      is more likely to conflict with another but will cover a much broader      class of expressions (from take one's time to take years).

While the preferred embodiment has been illustrated and described herein, it will be obvious that numerous modifications, changes, variations, substitutions and equivalents, in whole or in part, will now occur to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope contemplated by the invention. Accordingly, it is intended that the invention herein be limited only by the scope of the appended claims.

                  APPENDIX I                                                       ______________________________________                                         © Copyright 1990 General Electric Company                                                  SEMANTIC                                                                       TRANSFORMATION                                             SUFFIX POS → POS                                                                            RULES                                                      ______________________________________                                         ADV suffixes                                                                   er     adv → comp.sub.-- adv                                                                tr.sub.-- more                                             est    adv → super.sub.-- adv                                                               tr.sub.-- most                                             null   adv → base.sub.-- adv                                                                tr.sub.-- no-ch                                            null   adv → adj                                                                            tr.sub.-- no.sub.-- ch                                     ward   adv → adv                                                                            tr.sub.-- direction                                        ward   adv → adj                                                                            tr.sub.-- direction                                        wards  adv → adv                                                                            tr.sub.-- direction                                        wards  adv → adj                                                                            tr.sub.-- direction                                        NUMWORD suffixes                                                               ish    numword → adj                                                                        tr.sub.-- num.sub.-- qual                                  th     numword → adj                                                                        tr.sub.-- ordinal                                          ADJ suffixes                                                                   able   adj → adj                                                                            tr.sub.-- ability                                          al     adj → adj                                                                            tr.sub.-- property                                         ance   adj → noun                                                                           tr.sub.-- state                                            ancy   adj → noun                                                                           tr.sub.-- state                                            ar     adj → adj                                                                            tr.sub.-- property                                         ary    adj → adj                                                                            tr.sub.-- property                                         ate    adj → verb                                                                           tr.sub.-- cause                                            ate    adj → noun                                                                           tr.sub.-- cause                                            ature  adj → noun                                                       cy     adj → noun                                                                           tr.sub.-- state tr.sub.-- office tr.sub.-- act             dom    adj → noun                                                                           tr.sub.-- state                                            ee     adj → noun                                                                           tr.sub.-- one-who-is                                       en     adj → verb                                                                           tr.sub.-- cause tr.sub.-- become                           ency   adj → noun                                                                           tr.sub.-- state                                            ent    adj → adj                                                                            tr.sub.-- property                                         er     adj → comp.sub.-- adj                                                                tr.sub.-- more                                             er     adj → noun                                                                           tr.sub.-- one-who-is                                       ery    adj → noun                                                                           tr.sub.-- state                                            est    adj → super.sub.-- adj                                                               tr.sub.-- most                                             fy     adj → verb                                                                           tr.sub.-- cause                                            hood   adj → noun                                                                           tr.sub.-- state                                            ian    adj → adj                                                                            tr.sub.-- char-of-class                                    ible   adj → adj                                                                            tr.sub.-- ability                                          ic     adj → noun                                                                           tr.sub.-- property tr.sub.-- actor                         ician  adj → noun                                                                           tr.sub.-- specialist                                       ion    adj → tr.sub.-- entity tr.sub.-- state                           ish    adj → adj                                                                            tr.sub.-- rather                                           ism    adj → noun                                                                           tr.sub.-- practice tr.sub.-- state                         ist    adj → noun                                                                           tr.sub.-- actor                                            istic  adj → adj                                                                            tr.sub.-- property                                         ity    adj → noun                                                                           tr.sub.-- state tr.sub.-- entity                           ize    adj → verb                                                                           tr.sub.-- cause tr.sub.-- become                           ling   adj → noun                                                                           tr.sub.-- dim tr.sub.-- one-who-is                         ly     adj → adv                                                                            tr.sub.-- manner tr.sub.-- time tr.sub.-- order            ly     adj → nummod                                                                         tr.sub.-- num-qual                                         ly     adj → adj                                                                            tr.sub.-- like tr.sub.-- property                          man    adj → noun                                                                           tr.sub.-- man-assoc-with                                   minded adj → adj                                                                            tr.sub.-- has-a-mind-that-is                               most   adj → adj                                                                            tr.sub.-- most                                             ness   adj → noun                                                                           tr.sub.-- state                                            null   adj → base.sub.-- adj                                                                tr.sub.-- no-ch                                            null   adj → verb                                                                           tr.sub.-- cause tr.sub.-- become tr.sub.-- act-as-a        null   adj → adv                                                                            tr.sub.-- no-ch                                            null   adj → noun                                                                           tr.sub.-- state tr.sub.-- entity                           or     adj → noun                                                                           tr.sub.-- state                                            ship   adj → noun                                                                           tr.sub.-- state                                            some   adj → adj                                                                            tr.sub.-- property                                         ster   adj → noun                                                                           tr.sub.-- actor                                            th     adj → noun                                                                           tr.sub.-- state                                            tude   adj → noun                                                                           tr.sub.-- state                                            ty     adj → noun                                                                           tr.sub.-- state tr.sub.-- entity                           ure    adj → noun                                                                           tr.sub.-- entity                                           ward   adj → adj                                                                            tr.sub.-- direction                                        ward   adj → adv                                                                            tr.sub.-- direction                                        wards  adj → adj                                                                            tr.sub.-- direction                                        wards  adj → adv                                                                            tr.sub.-- direction                                        y      adj → adj                                                                            tr.sub.-- property                                         y      adj → noun                                                                           tr.sub.-- state                                            VERB suffixes                                                                  able   verb → adj                                                                           tr.sub.-- ability                                          able   verb → noun                                                                          tr.sub.-- ability-entity                                   ade    verb → noun                                                                          tr.sub.-- act tr.sub.-- result tr.sub.-- actor             age    verb → noun                                                                          tr.sub.-- act tr.sub.-- result tr.sub.-- object                                tr.sub.-- cost                                             al     verb → noun                                                                          tr.sub.-- act tr.sub.-- object                             al     verb → adj                                                                           tr.sub.-- property                                         ance   verb → noun                                                                          tr.sub.-- act tr.sub.-- state tr.sub.-- object                                 tr.sub.-- result                                           ant    verb → noun                                                                          tr.sub.-- actor                                            ant    verb → adj                                                                           tr.sub.-- property tr.sub.-- tend                          ard    verb → noun                                                                          tr.sub.-- actor                                            ary    verb → adj                                                                           tr.sub.-- property                                         ary    verb → noun                                                                          tr.sub.-- property-entity                                  asm    verb → noun                                                                          tr.sub.-- result tr.sub.-- state                           ast    verb → noun                                                                          tr.sub.-- actor                                            ate    verb → verb                                                                          tr.sub.-- cause tr.sub.-- act                              ate    verb → adj                                                                           tr.sub.-- property tr.sub.-- tend                          ator   verb → noun                                                                          tr.sub.-- actor                                            atory  verb → adj                                                                           tr.sub.-- tend tr.sub.-- associated                        cy     verb → noun                                                                          tr.sub.-- state tr.sub.-- office tr.sub.-- act             ed     verb → pt.sub.-- verb                                                                tr.sub.-- past                                             ed     verb →                                                                               tr.sub.-- past                                                    past.sub.-- part.sub.-- verb                                            ed     verb → adj                                                                           tr.sub.-- that-was-x-qual                                  ee     verb → noun                                                                          tr.sub.-- object tr.sub.-- recipient                       eer    verb → noun                                                                          tr.sub.-- actor                                            en     verb →                                                                               tr.sub.-- past                                                    past.sub.-- part.sub.-- verb                                            ent    verb → noun                                                                          tr.sub.-- actor                                            ent    verb → adj                                                                           tr.sub.-- property tr.sub.-- tend                          er     verb → noun                                                                          tr.sub.-- actor                                            ery    verb → noun                                                                          tr.sub.-- practice tr.sub.-- property tr.sub.--                                place                                                                          tr.sub.-- state                                            ess    verb → noun                                                                          tr.sub.-- fem                                              ful    verb → adj                                                                           tr.sub.-- tend                                             ible   verb → adj                                                                           tr.sub.-- ability                                          ible   verb → noun                                                                          tr.sub.-- abilty-entity                                    ic     verb → adj                                                                           tr.sub.-- property                                         ic     verb → noun                                                                          tr.sub.-- property-entity                                  ice    verb → noun                                                                          tr.sub.-- act tr.sub.-- state tr.sub.-- object             ier    verb → noun                                                                          tr.sub.-- actor                                            ing    verb →                                                                               tr.sub.-- process                                                 pres.sub.-- part.sub.-- verb                                            ing    verb → noun                                                                          tr.sub.-- act tr.sub.-- object tr.sub.-- result                                tr.sub.-- material                                         ing    verb → adj                                                                           tr.sub.-- that-is-x-qual                                   ion    verb → noun                                                                          tr.sub.-- act tr.sub.-- state tr.sub.-- object                                 tr.sub.-- result                                           ism    verb → noun                                                                          tr.sub.-- practice tr.sub.-- state                         ist    verb → noun                                                                          tr.sub.-- actor                                            ite    verb → any                                                                           tr.sub.-- not-general                                      ity    verb → noun                                                                          tr.sub.-- state tr.sub.-- entity                           ive    verb → adj                                                                           tr.sub.-- tend                                             ive    verb → noun                                                                          tr.sub.-- actor tr.sub.-- object                           less   verb → adj                                                                           tr.sub.-- inability                                        man    verb → noun                                                                          tr.sub.-- man-assoc-with                                   ment   verb → noun                                                                          tr.sub.-- act tr.sub.-- state tr.sub.-- object                                 tr.sub.-- result                                           null   verb → tl.sub.-- verb                                                                tr.sub.-- no-ch                                            null   verb →                                                                               tr.sub.-- present                                                 fp.sub.-- sing.sub.-- pr.sub.-- verb                                    null   verb →                                                                               tr.sub.-- present                                                 sp.sub.-- sing.sub.-- pr.sub.-- verb                                    null   verb →                                                                               tr.sub.-- present                                                 plur.sub.-- pr.sub.-- verb                                              null   verb → noun                                                                          tr.sub.-- act tr.sub.-- state tr.sub.-- result                                 tr.sub.-- object                                                               tr.sub.-- actor tr.sub.-- state tr.sub.-- instrument       null   verb → adj                                                                           tr.sub.-- property                                         null   verb → adv                                                                           tr.sub.-- manner                                           on     verb → noun                                                                          tr.sub.-- unit                                             or     verb → noun                                                                          tr.sub.-- actor tr.sub.-- act tr.sub.-- state                                  tr.sub.-- result                                                               tr.sub.-- property                                         ory    verb → adj                                                                           tr.sub.-- property                                         ory    verb → noun                                                                          tr.sub.-- place tr.sub.-- instrument                       ous    verb → adj                                                                           tr.sub.-- property                                         person verb → noun                                                                          tr.sub.-- actor                                            red    verb → noun                                                                          tr.sub.-- state                                            s      verb →                                                                               tr.sub.-- present                                                 tp.sub.-- sing.sub.-- pr.sub.-- verb                                    sis    verb → noun                                                                          tr.sub.-- act tr.sub.-- result                             some   verb → adj                                                                           tr.sub.-- property                                         ster   verb → noun                                                                          tr.sub.-- actor                                            ure    verb → noun                                                                          tr.sub.-- act tr.sub.-- state tr.sub.-- result                                 tr.sub.-- object                                           woman  verb → noun                                                                          tr.sub.-- woman-assoc-with                                 y      verb → verb                                                                          tr.sub.-- act                                              y      verb → noun                                                                          tr.sub.-- object tr.sub.-- act                             y      verb → adj                                                                           tr.sub.-- tend                                             NOUN suffixes                                                                  able   noun → adj                                                                           tr.sub.-- ability tr.sub.-- given-to                       able   noun → noun                                                                          tr.sub.-- ability-entity                                   ade    noun → noun                                                                          tr.sub.-- liquid                                           age    noun → noun                                                                          tr.sub.-- collection tr.sub.-- amount tr.sub.--                                state                                                      al     noun → adj                                                                           tr.sub.-- property                                         al     noun → noun                                                                          tr.sub.-- property-entity                                  an     noun → adj                                                                           tr.sub.-- property                                         an     noun → noun                                                                          tr.sub.-- inhabitant tr.sub.-- specialist                  ant    noun → noun                                                                          tr.sub.-- actor                                            ant    noun → adj                                                                           tr.sub.-- property tr.sub.-- tend                          ar     noun → adj                                                                           tr.sub.-- property                                         ar     noun → noun                                                                          tr.sub.-- property-entity                                  arian  noun → noun                                                                          tr.sub.-- advocate                                         arian  noun → adj                                                                           tr.sub.-- property                                         ary    noun → adj                                                                           tr.sub.-- property                                         ary    noun → noun                                                                          tr.sub.-- property-entity                                  ate    noun → verb                                                                          tr.sub.-- cause tr.sub.-- act                              ate    noun → adj                                                                           tr.sub.-- property                                         atory  noun → adj                                                                           tr.sub.-- tend tr.sub.-- associated                        ature  noun → noun                                                      crat   noun → noun                                                                          tr.sub.-- advocate tr.sub.-- member                        cy     noun → noun                                                                          tr.sub.-- state tr.sub.-- office tr.sub.-- act             dom    noun → noun                                                                          tr.sub.-- collection tr.sub.-- office tr.sub.--                                state                                                      ed     noun → adj                                                                           tr.sub.-- property                                         ee     noun → noun                                                                          tr.sub.-- dim tr.sub.-- person-assoc-with                  eer    noun → noun                                                                          tr.sub.-- actor                                            en     noun → verb                                                                          tr.sub.-- cause tr.sub.-- become                           en     noun → adj                                                                           tr.sub.-- made-of                                          ent    noun →  noun                                                                         tr.sub.-- actor                                            ent    noun → adj                                                                           tr.sub.-- property tr.sub.-- tend                          er     noun → noun                                                                          tr.sub.-- actor tr.sub.-- producer tr.sub.-- member                            tr.sub.-- inhabitant tr.sub.-- person-assoc-with           ern    noun → adj                                                                           tr.sub.-- no-ch                                            ery    noun → noun                                                                          tr.sub.-- practice tr.sub.-- property tr.sub.-- place                          tr.sub.-- state                                                                tr.sub.-- collection                                       ese    noun → adj                                                                           tr.sub.-- relating-to-place                                ese    noun → noun                                                                          tr.sub.-- inhabitant tr.sub.-- speech-style                ess    noun → noun                                                                          tr.sub.-- fem                                              ful    noun → noun                                                                          tr.sub.-- quantity                                         ful    noun → adj                                                                           tr.sub.-- property                                         fy     noun → verb                                                                          tr.sub.-- cause                                            graphy noun → noun                                                                          tr.sub.-- science tr.sub.-- process-of-writing             hood   noun → noun                                                                          tr.sub.-- state tr.sub.-- rank tr.sub.-- occupation        ian    noun → adj                                                                           tr.sub.-- char-of-class                                    ian    noun → noun                                                                          tr.sub.-- char-of-class-entity                             ible   noun → adj                                                                           tr.sub.-- ability tr.sub.-- given-to                       ible   noun → noun                                                                          tr.sub.-- ability-entity                                   ic     noun → adj                                                                           tr.sub.-- property                                         ical   noun → adj                                                                           tr.sub.-- property                                         ician  noun → noun                                                                          tr.sub.-- specialist                                       ier    noun → noun                                                                          tr.sub.-- actor                                            ine    noun → noun                                                                          tr.sub.-- fem                                              ing    noun → noun                                                                          tr.sub.-- act tr.sub.-- object tr.sub.-- material          ing    noun → adj                                                                           tr.sub.-- property                                         ish    noun → adj                                                                           tr.sub.-- property                                         ism    noun → noun                                                                          tr.sub.-- practice tr.sub.-- state                         ist    noun → noun                                                                          tr.sub.-- actor                                            istic  noun → adj                                                                           tr.sub.-- property                                         istic  noun → noun                                                                          tr.sub.-- property-entity                                  ite    noun → any                                                                           tr.sub.-- not-general                                      ite    noun → noun                                                                          tr.sub.-- member tr.sub.-- inhabitant                      ive    noun → adj                                                                           tr.sub.-- tend tr.sub.-- property                          ize    noun → verb                                                                          tr.sub.-- cause tr.sub.-- engage-in                        less   noun → adj                                                                           tr.sub.-- without                                          let    noun → noun                                                                          tr.sub.-- dim tr.sub.-- article-of-clothing                like   noun → adj                                                                           tr.sub.-- like                                             ling   noun → noun                                                                          tr.sub.-- dim tr.sub.-- member                             logy   noun → noun                                                                          tr.sub.-- literature tr.sub.-- science                     ly     noun → adj                                                                           tr.sub.-- time tr.sub.-- like tr.sub.-- property           ly     noun → noun                                                                          tr.sub.-- property-entity                                  ly     noun → adv                                                                           tr.sub.-- manner tr.sub.-- property                        man    noun → noun                                                                          tr-man-assoc-with                                          men    noun →                                                                               tr.sub.-- plural                                                  plur.sub.-- noun                                                        most   noun → adj                                                                           tr.sub.-- most                                             most   noun → adj                                                                           tr.sub.-- most                                             null   noun →                                                                               tr.sub.-- singular                                                sing.sub.-- noun                                                        null   noun → verb                                                                          tr.sub.-- cause tr.sub.-- use tr.sub.-- engage-in                              tr.sub.-- become tr.sub.-- act-as-a                        null   noun → adj                                                                           tr.sub.-- property                                         null   noun → adv                                                                           tr.sub.-- manner tr.sub.-- direction                       or     noun → noun                                                                          tr.sub.-- actor tr.sub.-- member                           ory    noun → noun                                                                          tr.sub.-- place tr.sub.-- instrument                       ory    noun → adj                                                                           tr.sub.-- property                                         ous    noun → adj                                                                           tr.sub.-- property                                         person noun → noun                                                                          tr.sub.-- person-assoc-with                                s      noun →                                                                               tr.sub.-- plural                                                  plur.sub.-- noun                                                        ship   noun → noun                                                                          tr.sub.-- occupation tr.sub.-- skill tr.sub.-- state                           tr.sub.-- collection tr.sub.-- act                         some   noun → adj                                                                           tr.sub.-- property                                         ster   noun → noun                                                                          tr.sub.-- actor                                            ure    noun → noun                                                                          tr.sub.-- object tr.sub.-- rank tr.sub.-- science                              tr.sub.-- collection                                       ward   noun → adj                                                                           tr.sub.-- direction                                        ward   noun → adv                                                                           tr.sub.-- direction                                        wards  noun → adj                                                                           tr.sub.-- direction                                        wards  noun → adv                                                                           tr.sub.-- direction                                        woman  noun → noun                                                                          tr.sub.-- woman-assoc-with                                 women  noun →                                                                               tr.sub.-- plural                                                  plur.sub.-- noun                                                        y      noun → noun                                                                          tr.sub.-- collection tr.sub.-- place tr.sub.-- state                           tr.sub.-- dim                                              y      noun → adj                                                                           tr.sub.-- property                                         ______________________________________                                    

                  APPENDIX II                                                      ______________________________________                                         © Copyright 1990 General Electric Company                                                     SEMANTIC                                                                       TRANSFORMATION                                          PREFIX    POS → POS                                                                            RULES                                                   ______________________________________                                         ADV prefixes                                                                   in-       adv → adv                                                                            tr.sub.-- negative                                      ADJ prefixes                                                                   dis-      adj → adj                                                                            tr.sub.-- negative                                      il-       adj → adj                                                                            tr.sub.-- negative                                      im-       adj → adj                                                                            tr.sub.-- negative                                      in-       adj → adj                                                                            tr.sub.-- negative                                      ir-       adj → adj                                                                            tr.sub.-- negative                                      mis-      adj → adj                                                                            tr.sub.-- negative                                      out-      adj → adj                                                                            tr.sub.-- surpass                                       pre-      adj → adj                                                                            tr.sub.-- before                                        re-       adj → adj                                                                            tr.sub.-- again                                         un-       adj → adj                                                                            tr.sub.-- negative                                      VERB prefixes                                                                  dis-      verb → verb                                                                          tr.sub.-- negative                                      mis-      verb → verb                                                                          tr.sub.-- negative                                      out-      verb → verb                                                                          tr.sub.-- surpass                                       pre-      verb → verb                                                                          tr.sub.-- before                                        re-       verb → verb                                                                          tr.sub.-- again                                         un-       verb → verb                                                                          tr.sub.-- negative                                      NOUN prefixes                                                                  dis-      noun → noun                                                                          tr.sub.-- negative                                      il-       noun → noun                                                                          tr.sub.-- negative                                      im-       noun → noun                                                                          tr.sub.-- negative                                      in-       noun → noun                                                                          tr.sub.-- negative                                      ir-       noun → noun                                                                          tr.sub.-- negative                                      mis-      noun → noun                                                                          tr.sub.-- negative                                      out-      noun → noun                                                                          tr.sub.-- surpass                                       pre-      noun → noun                                                                          tr.sub.-- before                                        re-       noun → noun                                                                          tr.sub.-- again                                         un-       noun → noun                                                                          tr.sub.-- negative                                      ______________________________________                                    

                  APPENDIX III                                                     ______________________________________                                         © Copyright 1990 General Electric Company                              ______________________________________                                         tr.sub.-- ability "Able to be Xed (-able)" Ex: solvable                        tr.sub.-- act "Act of X" Ex: acquisition                                       tr.sub.-- act-as-a "Act as a X does" Ex: to boss                               tr.sub.-- actor "Actor of X" Ex: miner                                         tr.sub.-- advocate "Advocate of X (-crat)" Ex: democrat                        tr.sub.-- again "X again (re-)" Ex: redo                                       tr.sub.-- amount "Amount of X (-age)" Ex: acreage                              tr.sub.-- article-of-clothing "Article of clothing related to X                (-let -wear)" Ex: footwear                                                     tr.sub.-- associated "Related to X (-story)" Ex: exploratory                   tr.sub.-- become "Become X (-ize -en)" Ex: stabilize                           tr.sub.-- before "Prior to X (pre-)" Ex: predawn                               tr.sub.-- cause "Cause X" Ex: simplify                                         tr.sub.-- char-of-class "Characteristic of class X (-ian)" Ex: guardian        tr.sub.-- collection "Collection, whole, or group of X (-age -ure -dom         ship -y -ery)" Ex: patronage                                                   tr.sub.-- cost "Cost of service X (-age)" Ex: postage                          tr.sub.-- dim "X has small size (-ee -let -ling -y)" Ex: bootee                tr.sub.-- direction "Direction toward X (-ward -wards)" Ex: backward           tr.sub.-- engage-in "Engage in activity or state X (-ize -null)"               Ex: to battle                                                                  tr.sub.-- entity "Thing that is X (-istic -able -ure -al -ism -ion -ar         -ent                                                                           ly -ary -ty -ity -null)" Ex: the affluent                                      tr.sub.-- fem "X has feminine gender (-ine -ess)" Ex: actress                  tr.sub.-- given-to "Given to X (-able)" Ex: peaceable                          tr.sub.-- has-a-mind-that-is "Has a mind that is X (-minded)"                  Ex: narrowminded                                                               tr.sub.-- inability "Unable to do X (-less)" Ex: ceaseless                     tr.sub.-- inhabitant "Inhabitant of X (-ese -ite)" Ex: chinese                 tr.sub.-- instrument "Instrument of X (-ory)" Ex: accessory                    tr.sub.-- like "Similar to X (-like -ly)" Ex: ladylike                         tr.sub.-- liquid "Liquid made from X (-ade)" Ex: lemonade                      tr.sub.-- literature "Literature concerning X (-logy)" Ex: trilogy             tr.sub.-- made-of "Made of X (-en)" Ex: wooden                                 tr.sub.-- man-assoc-with "Man associated with X (-man)" Ex: mailman            tr.sub.-- manner "In the manner X (-ly -null)" Ex: quickly                     tr.sub.-- material "Something used in X (-ing)" Ex: flooring                   tr.sub.-- member "Member of group X (-ite -ling -er -or -crat)"                Ex: ancestor                                                                   tr.sub.-- more "More of quality X (-er)" Ex: faster                            tr.sub.-- most "Most of quality X (-est)" Ex: fastest                          tr.sub.-- negative "Negative of X (dis- il- im- in- ir- mis- un-)"             Ex: dislike                                                                    tr.sub.-- no-ch "No change to X" Ex:                                           tr.sub.-- num-qual "Numeric qualifier (-ly)" Ex: firstly                       tr.sub.-- object "Object of X" Ex: acquisition                                 tr.sub.-- occupation "Occupation relating to X (-hood -ship -ess)"             Ex: captainship                                                                tr.sub.-- office "Office of X (-dom -cy)" Ex: accountancy                      tr.sub.-- one-who-is "One who is X (-ee -ling)" Ex: offeree                    tr.sub.-- order "Having order X (-ly)" Ex: latterly                            tr.sub.-- ordinal "Xth place in a sequence (-th)" Ex: eleventh                 tr.sub.-- past "X happened in the past" Ex: sold                               tr.sub.-- person-assoc-with "Person associated with X (-person)"               Ex: businessperson                                                             tr.sub.-- place "Place of activity X or thing X (-y -ery -ory)"                Ex: bakery                                                                     tr.sub.-- plural "X has plural number" Ex: dollars                             tr.sub.-- practice "Practice or art of X (-ism -ery)" Ex: carpentry            tr.sub.-- present "X happened in the present" Ex: sells                        tr.sub.-- process "Ongoing process of X (-ing)" Ex: winning                    tr.sub.-- process-of-writing "Process of writing X (-graphy)"                  Ex: stenography                                                                tr.sub.-- producer "Producer of X" Ex: biographer                              tr.sub.-- property "Quality relating to X" Ex: acidic                          tr.sub.-- quantity "A quantity of X (-ful)" Ex: roomful                        tr.sub.-- rank "Rank of X (-hood -ure)" Ex: sainthood                          tr.sub.-- rather "Rather or somewhat X (-ish)" Ex: yellowish                   tr.sub.-- relating-to-place "Relating to place X (-ese)" Ex: chinese           tr.sub.-- result "Result of being Xed (too many to list)" Ex:                  destruction                                                                    tr.sub.-- science "Science of X (-ure -logy -graphy)" Ex: oceanography         tr.sub.-- singular "X has number singular" Ex: dollar                          tr.sub.-- skill "Skill of X (-ship)" Ex: marksmanship                          tr.sub.-- specialist "Specialist of X (-an -ician)" Ex: beautician             tr.sub.-- speech-style "Speech style of X (-ese)" Ex: journalese               tr.sub.-- state "State or condition of X" Ex: organization                     tr.sub.-- surpass "Surpass X (out-)" Ex: outdo                                 tr.sub.-- tend "Tending to X (-ate -ive -ful -ant -ent -y -atory)"             Ex: combative                                                                  tr.sub.-- that-is-x-qual "That is Xing (-ing)" Ex: swinging                    tr.sub.-- that-was-x-qual "That was Xed (-ed)" Ex: tired                       tr.sub.-- time "Repeated at interval X (-ly)" Ex: weekly                       tr.sub.-- use "Use X for intended purpose (-null)" Ex: to bank                 tr.sub.-- without "Without X (-less)" Ex: hopeless                             tr.sub.-- woman assoc-with "Woman associated with X (-woman)"                  Ex: mailwoman                                                                  tr.sub.-- ability-entity "Thing that is able to X" Ex: a valuable              tr.sub.-- property-entity "Thing that is has a quality relating to X"          Ex: a criminal                                                                 tr.sub.-- char-of-class-entity "Thing that has the characteristics of          class X" Ex: a guardian                                                        ______________________________________                                          ##SPC1## 

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer based method for performing morphological analysis of word structure comprising the steps of:breaking a word into possible base-affix pairs; modifying the base of each base-affix pair into possible roots; retrieving each lexical entry of each root in a lexicon; deriving a lexical entry for a root if a lexical entry is not provided in the lexicon; retrieving derivation information for each affix from its lexical entry; creating a new lexical entry with a target as its part-of-speech for each lexical target; and generating semantic transformations of the derivation information for a sense and storing the result in the lexical entry.
 2. A method of operating a computer for performing morphological analysis of word structure comprising the steps of:breaking a word into possible base-affix pairs; modifying the base of each base-affix pair into possible roots; retrieving each lexical entry of each root in a lexicon; deriving a lexical entry for a root if a lexical entry is not provided in the lexicon; retrieving derivation information for each affix from its lexical entry; creating a new lexical entry with a target as its part-of-speech for each lexical target; and generating semantic transformations of the derivation information for a sense and storing the result in the lexical entry.
 3. A computer based method for performing morphological analysis of word structure comprising the steps of:breaking a word into possible base-affix pairs; modifying the base of each base-affix pair into possible roots; retrieving each lexical entry of each root in a lexicon; deriving a lexical entry for a root if a lexical entry is not provided in the lexicon; storing a derivative and a sense under a lexical target for each sense of the entry and for each sense level derivative of a suffix wherein, said derivative results in said lexical target; storing a derivative with each sense of the entry under a lexical target for each entry-level derivative of a suffix, wherein said derivative results in said lexical target; storing a derivative with each sense of the entry under a lexical target for each part-of-speech default derivative of a suffix, wherein said derivative results in a lexical target not yet derived; and applying the derivation information to the entry.
 4. A method in accordance with claim 3 wherein applying derivation information to an entry comprises the steps of:creating a new lexical entry with a target as its part-of-speech for each lexical target; and applying the semantic transformations of the derivative to the sense and storing the resulting new senses in the new lexical entry for each lexical target.
 5. A method in accordance with claim 3 wherein the affix is a prefix.
 6. A method in accordance with claim 3 wherein the affix is a suffix.
 7. A method of operating a computer for performing morphological analysis of word structure comprising the steps of:breaking a word into possible base-affix pairs; modifying the base of each base-affix pair into possible roots; retrieving each lexical entry of each root in a lexicon; deriving a lexical entry for a root if a lexical entry is not provided in the lexicon; storing a derivative and a sense under a lexical target for each sense of the entry and for each sense level derivative of a suffix wherein, said derivative results in said lexical target; storing a derivative with each sense of the entry under a lexical target for each entry-level derivative of a suffix, wherein said derivative results in said lexical target; storing a derivative with each sense of the entry under a lexical target for each part-of-speech default derivative of a suffix, wherein said derivative results in a lexical target not yet derived; and applying the derivation information to the entry.
 8. A method in accordance with claim 7 wherein applying derivation information to an entry comprises the steps of:creating a new lexical entry with a target as its part-of-speech for each lexical target; and applying the semantic transformations of the derivative to the sense and storing the resulting new senses in the new lexical entry for each lexical target.
 9. A method in accordance with claim 7 wherein the affix is a prefix.
 10. A method in accordance with claim 7 wherein the affix is a suffix. 